Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Man, I’ve been making a lot of rouxs lately (which you’ll be seeing in all their buttery glory in a series of upcoming holiday videos), but for this apple cider braised pork roast, I wanted to keep things a little lighter and decided to use a classic reduction.

We’ve done dozens of similar style sauces, but most of those were traditional pan sauces, where the skillet is deglazed with some kind of flavorful liquid, which is reduced down, and finally finished with butter.

This is basically the same technique; except here we’re reducing the braising liquid from the slow cooker while our pork rests. By the way, I keep saying “cider” because it sounds and looks better in print, but I actually used apple juice. Both work very well, but a just-pressed, unfiltered cider would be my official recommendation.

One thing to remember about these types of reduction sauces is that a little goes a long way. You’re taking an already flavorful liquid and reducing down to maybe 25% of its original volume. This is also the reason you shouldn’t season it until the end. After the cold butter is whisked into the sauce, and your herb of choice has been added, give it a taste and adjust for salt then.

Since we’re using a relatively small amount of braising liquid for this big a hunk of meat, I decided to use the slow cooker. You can certainly do this on the stovetop, over very low heat, or in a slow (275 degrees F.) oven, but neither is quite as convenient. Regardless of your cooking method, I hope you give this delicious pork shoulder a try soon. Enjoy!

60 comments:

I have always found the slow cooker to be a great way to do pork or pot roasts. I haven't tried apple juice juice for the liquid as I tend to lean towards savory and spicy instead of sweet. But this sounds too good so I will be trying it. I think there is one pork roast left in the freezer from last year's side of pork.

Chef quick question... I am making this to take to friends as part of a complete meal on Saturday (we live in NH and they have not had power for 5 days). I was thinking I would make the sauce here and pour over the entire roast and put back in my crock pot for transport (since my crock pot will keeps food warm for hours without power). Will the sauce hold together or should I just skip it this time?

I was thinking ..Why do the searing, sweating and other prep when using the slow cooker. Then we tried this last night and WOW! I tasted the meat and it was a little bland right out of the slow cooker. Then Judy did the reduction and seasoned the sauce and meat. It was perfect just so tender and tons of flavor. We had ours with pan fried sweet potato string fries.Way to go Chef John.

Chef John, I had the family to dinner last night and made this. It was very well received. My 16 year old grandson liked the reduction so much that he also put it on his dressing and green beans. Wow, what a guy. My concerns about it being too sweet were unfounded as the vinegar added an entirely new dimension to the flavor. The meat was also delicious. Thanks very much for such an enjoyable meal.

I just love your recipes and the way you present them. I can always find one I like and I can always follow it without any problems I promote your recipes often with my family and friends. If you start a tv show let me know I would watch it always and no I am not stalking you. It is just great that there is a how to video with the recipes. That said, I am going to try this tonight with pork chops I have in my refrigerator. I will have to cook it in a pan or oven. Still looking for a slow cooker here in Italy.

I made this recipe yesterday, and it was fork-tender before 6 hours, I guess my crock pot runs a little hot. Thanks to you I was master of my pork roast and it was delicious. Served with mashed potatoes and we used the fantastic reduction sauce on both the meat and taters. Thanks so much, and hope to see more slow cooker recipes.

Made this (using a boneless roast & pure pressed apple juice) and took to friends to have for dinner tonight. Everyone loved it! The only thing I would do differently in the future is adjust the amount of vinegar and seasoning to our particular palate. Such a fantastic Fall dinner! :)

This recipe sounds so good....I went looking for a 4-5 lb shoulder roast and could only find a whole 9-lb shoulder ("picnic", whatever that means).... can I just double the recipe and adjust cooking time? Or is there something else i should do to adjust the recipe for a bigger roast?

I did this yesterday. It was delicious. I haven't used my crock pot in years. Surprised me it still worked. I had mashed tators with it and I attempted German sweet and sour cabbage which failed. It had apple and vinegar in it also so I thought it would go. It was gross but the pork was delicious. I'm thinking next time I make this I'll have scalloped potatoes with it. I'll have to think more on the vegetable dish. Thanks Chef! A really good pork shoulder recipe this is.

This dish just didn't go well for me. First, I got home from the supermarket only to discover I accidentally bought "Apple Juice Drink" which is mostly water. Determined to make this pork, I rolled with the punch.

Then I erred on the side of "a little too long" in the slow cooker but wound up with pulled pork. Womp Womp.

However, unlike the actual pulled pork video on this site, the pork I had this time was horribly fatty, since the fats didn't drip off like they did when I slow cooked the shoulder for 12 hours without any liquid. I wound up having to pull the big chunks of fat out with my fingers, which was hardly a pleasant task.

Chef John, I am new to slow cooker cooking but intend to make this roast for Easter. My roast, however, is 7.6 pounds and is not boneless. Might you estimate how much longer it will take to cook? I'll know when it's done, but I'd rather not serve dinner at midnight. Thanks & have a nice Easter!

Chef John, First I have to say I love watching your videos, they have made my cooking that much better...... Now for my question...I am planning on making this braised pork recipe for our Easter dinner. I was not able to find a boneless pork shoulder and settled on a 12lb. Pork (tenderloin) roast....should I adjust the cooking times for the smaller size of the meat? And can I still braise the pork before setting it into the slow cooker? My plan is to split the roast in half and cook 2 separate 6 pounders in 2 slow cookers. Thanks again for all the great recipes and videosAJ

If it's 12 pounds its a loin not a tenderloin, but both are MUCH leaner than shoulder and personally not recommended for the slow cooker. If you do want to do it, yes, use the low setting until fork tender.

I mistakenly unplugged the slow cooker(thinking it was the toaster cord) for about an hour. Still, after almost 9 hours, my 7.6 pound roast was bloody when pierced. I made alternate plans for dinner that night and put the roast and braising liquid separately on ice. Two days later, I skimmed the congealed fat off the braising liquid and finished the roast in a dutch oven on the stove, slowly for about 2.5 hours. It was succulent, tender and delicious with the reduction sauce. Thank you again, Chef John.By the way, I think I need rehab. I'm addicted to this site. In the last week, I've made, in addition to the pork roast, your roasted chicken soup (twice), the ham and potato soup, banana bread (twice), french toast and I may attempt the pierogi tomorrow.

Made this last night and ohhh so good! My husband said it was the "best tasting pork he's had in the house!" Burp ;) Complements to the Chef!!! Again as all say, thanks for your patience with us everyday cooks!

EMERGENCY!!! I hope you see this Chef!I just got back from the store and HAD all the ingredients to make this tomorrow. I say "had" because, of course, the apple cider vinegar I bought came in a glass bottle and somehow it decided it just had to jump off my kitchen counter when I got home :( :( I won't be able to go back for more before I make this, the meat is thawed and ready for AM slow-cookering. Is there another vinegar that will work without messing up the flavor profile too much?? I have the boring regular white, Balsamic, rice, and pomegranate red wine types of vinegars on hand--I also have some lemons I just bought if that would work as a sub?? Or would I be better off leaving that ingredient out? HELP!!! I don't want to ruin my huge chunk of meat!!Thanks much!

Thank you for all the work you do on the videos. Great recipes and your style of teaching is just right for guys like me who know nothing about cooking. I've learned to make so many great dishes from your videos, a recent dinner guest ask if I had attended cooking school, I said yes the school of Chef John-----You're the best!

Been married 32 years. Made this pork roast dinner for my wife, with 5 spice carrots and steamed zucchini and even with using garlic powder instead of garlic cloves, and substitute Dijon mustard, my wife said it was the best dinner I've ever made for her. Thank you Chef John...it was delicious!